


Mindful Re-Education

by LooneyMooney



Series: Invader Gems [3]
Category: Invader Zim, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: 18th Century, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Comic, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/F, Gem Fusion, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2019-09-16 01:30:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16944447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LooneyMooney/pseuds/LooneyMooney
Summary: Garnet teaches Ruby Z1M and Sapphire D18 of the Invader Gems expedition to control their fusion. Posted in comic form with story-like image descriptions





	1. cover

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be updating these, using higher-quality scans.


	2. Chapter 2

Ext. Strawberry Battlefield, Evening. There is much commotion within the crashed Eyeball ship

Pearl G1R: Giant Woman!

Amethyst G4Z: Again? Seriously?

G4Z: You know you're breaking the law, right?

Inside the Swollen Eyeball, a tall figure dressed in mis-matched blues, pinks, and violets rolls their eyes as an exuberant little green pearl frolicks around them. G4Z glares at the scene.

Garnet ZADR: Well it's not like we did it on PURPOSE

G4Z snags G1R mid-run as she retorts.

G4Z: Oh, so you're fusing Accidentally now?

Garnet ZADR: It- well I mean, it-  we can't control - it happens every time we fight... So...

G4Z: Then your solution is obvious. Just stop fighting.

Garnet ZADR: NO!

G4Z:

G4Z: Well regardless, we'll be stranded on this planet for a while. Learn to control yourselves.

Garnet ZADR goes to sulk outside, sitting atop the buisiness end of a random hammer amongst the scattered weapons dotting the flourishing, overgrown landscape. Unbeknownst to them, a bespeckled figure spies them from the bushes. It's a very excited Garnet, clothed in the colonial attire of a Crystal Gem in the 18th century.

Garnet: Greetings!

ZADR freaks out. They pull all their weapons on the new intruder, including wickedly-sharp spider legs and a pair of laser-powered Video Camera Guns.

Welcome to Mindful Re-Education.


	3. Chapter 3

 Garnet stands tall and proud amidst the Strawberry Battlefield, unphased by the threatening display. She touches a hand to her chest, holding her other out placatingly

Garnet: It's okay! I'm like you..

Garnet: See?

She holds her hands out in front of her, palms-up so her gems are on full display. One a Sapphire, one a Ruby, both colored the same violet-red.

ZADR Garnet is a little hesitant, but puts their weapons away. They fold their arms in front of themselves, clutching their elbows against their stomach as they face the Original Garnet.

ZADR: What are we?


	4. Chapter 4

Garnet: You're...

Garnet: A Fusion!

ZADR: Well, DUH. But like.

ZADR: What are we? How is this possible? Why does this keep happening? Who are we now? Am I Z1M? Am I D18? Am I both? How? Are we -

ZADR: How do we stop it? ... CAN we stop it?

ZADR: We keep falling apart and falling together and again and again and this isn't RIGHT but we don't know how to stop it, we don't even know how we STARTED and-

Garnet: Hold it together.

ZADR: WHY?

Garnet: LISTEN. You can't control how you fuse and unfuse. Not until you learn to stabilize your fusion. We all go through this at some point or another. I can help.


	5. Chapter 5

Garnet: But you're going to have to trust me.

ZADR: I- WE don't give trust easily.

Garnet: I Know.

ZADR: So WHY should we trust YOU?

Garnet: Because if you don't, I can't teach you.

ZADR: You can teach me? Teach us?

Garnet: Yes

ZADR: YES!

Garnet: Though it's been a while since I've taught a new fusion.

ZADR: WHO CARES?

ZADR: Give us your knowledge. We DEMAND it.


	6. Chapter 6

Later...

EXT. Floating Arena, Mind Space, Day??? ZADR and Garnet sit cross-legged on the floor, the light saturating their colors to simplified pastels. Garnet's eyes are all obscured by her glasses, but she looks calm, controlled. ZADR, by comparison, seems much more awkward about the whole affair, but also open and curious. Like a child in a classroom. 

Garnet: Now, I want you to look inward

ZADR closes their eyes, hesitant. A few butterflies flutter past. 

Garnet: Let your thoughts flow freely...

ZADR opens their eyes, shocked by the butterflies that begin to fly towards them.

Garnet: Even those that may trouble you.

Suddenly, there's a burst of butterflies swarming them, surrounding them, tearing them apart at the seams as the world around them darkens. The swarm reveals the images of Red and Purple Zircon, Z1M's lawyers and caretakers, and D18's creator, Professor Muscovite. Ruby Z1M, Garnet ZADR, and Sapphire D18 stand below the swarm, tears welling up uncontrollably in their eyes and spilling down their faces. They give out a broken cry:

ZADR: NO


	7. Chapter 7

Sapphire D18 and Ruby Z1M are still surrounded by butterflies, but Z1M looks towards his Sapphire as D18 shouts

Sapphire D18: DAD! It's not what it looks like!

Professor Muscovite looks down upon them with pity in his eyes.

Professor Muscovite: My poor, insane creation...

I suppose it was only a matter of time,

Before you showed signs of deterioration. 

It's my own fault, really.

I should have had you shattered as soon as I realized

The experiment Failed.

But I put so much WORK into you...

I keep waiting for you to be a success.


	8. Chapter 8

Professor Muscovite:

I created you to see all possible futures

Yet you're continually blinded by the impossible

 

Sapphire D18 grips his head, tears spilling from his eye, form destabilizing as his creator continues:

 

Your Predictions are WRONG

Your Reasoning is FLAWED

Your "Sister" only _tolerates_ you

Your head is swollen with your Delusions

Z1M: **LIES!**


	9. Chapter 9

Z1M: The D18's predictions, while unusual and sparradic, are always correct. His Big Head holds much wisdom.

Z1M: He was even able to predict Z1M.

Z1M offers his hand to his fallen Sapphire. D18 takes it, smiling weakly.

D18: Heh. That's Right.

Z1M pulls D18 up, and he stands triumphant, gripping Z1M's hand in his own as he faces his own insecurities with a grin on his face and a determined spark in his eye. 

D18: Z1M's all the proof I'll ever need! I don't need your Validation

Garnet ZADR: AN INVADER NEEDS NO-ONE!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everyone! Here's to the miraculous joy of found family and keeping those who were cruel to you out of your life!


	10. Chapter 10

Red Zircon: You sure about that, Z1M?

Red Zircon: Cuz I'm pretty sure you need US.

Purple Zircon: Frankly I'm a little peeved you forgot us so quickly.

Purple Zircon: Let's review the facts of the case, shall we?

Red Zircon: Yes, Pur, Let's. 

 

The mindscape darkens, oversaturated pastels washing out into muddier shadows of color. The Zircons stand tall, taking their places in the newly-formed Homeworld-esque hallucinatory courtroom. A few of the swarming, blinding butterflies expand to display various scenes from Z1M's past - evidence of the crimes he's committed against his people. 

The first butterfly displays Z1M standing in a Kindergarten, wearing a typical Ruby's uniform. A few other rubies are scattered throughout the Kindergarten, but they're misshapen, splotchy, _off-color_. He's reaching out to a fellow Ruby (who is short and stout, most likely his friend Skoodge) who is in pain. 

The next butterfly is vaguely more comical, though far more disastrous - Z1M, this time in a sharper, more feminine uniform, stands before what appears to be a Vending machine - he's pointing his PAK legs at it with a murderously frustrated glare, and the butterfly's other wing shows a planet that's been half destroyed, the internal magma splayed out into space like a gushing wound.

 The last butterfly shows three different gems - a Hessonite, an Agate, and a Lapis. Each one is completely different, but they do have one similarity - all their gems are severely cracked. The Hessonite and Agate are unfamiliar, But the Lapis bears strong resemblance to the late Tallest Miyuki.

 

Pur: You corrupt every Ruby you fuse with, turning most Rubies from your Kindergarten GREEN.

Pur: You've debilitated multiple colonies and ruined limited resources,

Red: And you shatter every gem you're assigned to.

Red: In short, you're a Menace who destroys everything you touch. WOW.


	11. Chapter 11

Red Zircon: A Ruby who can't protect anyone...

Purple Zircon:... How Tragic.

Zircons: How do you Plead

 

The courtroom erupts into shades of red and violet as the butterflies scatter, as though frightened by this turn of events. The Zircons grow and elongate, their torsos wrapping around the stage like pythons as their voices hiss with a sort of terrifying satisfaction. Red points a spotlight on Z1M, surrounding him with the same sort of blinding, oversaturating pastel white light that Professor Muscovite had emitted while judging his own creation. Z1M has his back turned, framing his gem.

 

Purple Zircon: Oh, but you don't FEEL guilty, do you?

Red Zircon: No. There's only one thing that even comes close...

 

The Zircons turn their backs on the accused (Ruby Z1M) to address a final, lingering butterfly.

 

Zircons: We call to the stand-

 

...

The accused looks up. Tears are streaming down his face. The accused's face is guilty.


	12. Chapter 12

The Butterfly disappears, transforming into a spotlight to reveal

SAPPHIRE D18

D18:... Me?

Z1M: D18...

The light is different now, somehow. Green enters the mix of blues and pinks and violets, making the scene feel slightly more natural, slightly more flawed. Z1M and D18 are still crying, and Z1M looks helpless, his form beginning to distort slightly as D18's had before... Only instead of his shape distorting, it's his _colors_.

Red: That's right Z1M! D18. 

Pur: Given your track record, D18's likely to die under your care.

Red: You can't protect him. You'll only kill him.

Pur: He's better off without you, Z1M. 

D18: OBJECTION!

D18's cry scatters butterflies before him, illuminating the scene more and chasing away some of those muddied shadows.


	13. Chapter 13

D18: Your Conclusion is based on the assumption that I'd LET Ruby Z1M shatter me as he did his previous charges. BUT I KNOW SOMETHING THEY DIDN'T.

Because I am not your typical Sapphire, I can see that Z1M isn't your typical Ruby. Thus, expecting him to fulfill a typical Ruby's duties is ignorance. I DON'T NEED MY RUBY TO PROTECT ME

As Sapphire D18 presents his case, he holds out his hand to his Ruby, and color creeps back into the scene. Not the muddy reds and violets from earlier, but glowing blues and greens and pinks, all blending and fusing into a calming pastel gradient. 

D18: Because he does something only Z1M can do.

Z1M validates me. Surprises me! Challenges me, Excites me... Makes me feel Alive. 

I need Z 1M.

And I think he needs me too.

Z1M takes D18's hand, smiling fondly as he wipes away his tears. From their touch spreads the more vibrant colors.

Z1M: Heh. Foolish Sapphire.

They hold one another, and the deep tones of their usual forms return, no longer dulled in the face of their inner fears. They are making eachother feel more like themselves with their mere presence.

D18: MY foolish Sapphire? 

Z1M: Yes. MINE

 


	14. Chapter 14

As Z1M and D18 kiss, the butterflies that had plagued them shatter and crumble, outshined by the light of their newfound love. Garnet ZADR - _Almandine_ \- is GLOWING and Grinning, embracing themself, their existence, with newfound joy and relief. They can finally love themself.

Sapphire: Well Done.

Ruby: Yeah, that was Awesome! 

The scene appears much lighter now. Z1M, D18, and Almandine face their mentor Garnet, who is now accompanied by her two counterparts, Ruby and Sapphire, clothed in distinctly colonial attire. They're holding hands, smiling proudly, as Garnet hovers behind them.

Sapphire: Don't worry

Ruby: Your secret is safe with us!

Garnet: So long as our secret is safe with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Support me on Paypal paypal.me/MaeveMooney and Ko-Fi ko-fi.com/maevemooney ! And stay tuned for the Official Professionally Scanned Pay-What-You-Want Invader Gems: Mindful Re-Education Gumroad Release (with Bonus Content!)  
> Hey, copic ink isn't cheap.


	15. Chapter 15

 

Almandine, Z1M, & D18: What Secret?

Garnet hesitates, her eyes for once distrustful

Garnet:... I need your WORD.

Sapphire: Homeworld CAN'T know that there are still gems living on Earth.

Ruby: If Homeworld finds out, they might _shatter_ us...

Sapphire: Or worse.

Almandine: "Might?"

D18: You... You don't KNOW?

the scene erupts once more into chaos and butterflies, but... this time, it's all coming from Garnet and her counterparts. Ruby and Sapphire hold one another as the three of them shed tears: Frustrated, resigned, uncertain.

Garnet: No. I don't.

Z1M: Pah. Foolish Alloy.

D18 glares at his ruby, and Z1M smirks back as he draws away to take on one of his trademark confident stances.

Z1M: Z1M knows a mighty warrior when he sees one. I don't need future vision to know that you will FIGHT


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final page and gumroad release are up and running! Check out the Gumroad Release to see a special Invader Gems Video Promo, Ft. Music by Neku! https://gum.co/SyauHC

Back at the Strawberry Battlefield, Garnet waves Z1M and D18 off from the Warp pad. Their arms are wrapped around one another's waists, but they use their free hands to say farewell in their own ways: Sapphire D18 waves back as Ruby Z1M salutes her. 

Z1M: We can keep our promise, right?

D18: Oh yeah.

They start walking back home along the dirt trench made by the Swollen Eyeball Ship's crash landing, hand-in-hand as they approach the gem-studded back door.

D18: Homeworld won't bother Earth - at least, not until Pink Diamond gets resurrected as a human hybrid named "Steven."

Z1M:... Oddly specific and crazy, but - I trust your judgement, stink-head. Okay.

D18 releases Z1M's hand to open the door, and Z1M crosses his arms, looking upon his Sapphire fondly. They both appear to be incredibly content.

D18: We're home~!

G1R is sleeping on the couch, dreaming of rubber green piggies. But Amethyst G4Z is nowhere near resting, sitting at the holodesk of the ship's cockpit/living room, multiple windows open on the ship's screens displaying various schematics, manuals, chatrooms, and a variety of other programs. She's been working hard, and her glare holds no fire in the weight of her exhaustion as she crosses her arms and opens a single eye to look at her brothers.

G4Z: Good, you've unfused. Stay that way. I managed to send out a distress signal. A homeworld ship should be coming to help fix ours in a bit.

This gives Z1M and D18 pause. Their joy shatters in the face of this news, giving way to a tense frustration. Z1M grabs D18's arm, gritting his teeth and turning them to face away from their amethyst.

D18:... Please excuse us for a moment.

G4Z rolls her eyes, but leans back and lets the two of them have their "moment." Now that the dialogue has uncluttered the screen, we can see exactly which gem - and ship - she was contacting. It's a Lolite. And the ship? Is the Homeworld Gem version of none other than Tak's.

D18: This... miiiiiiiiiiiight make it harder for us to keep our promise.

Z1M: Oh, you THINK?


End file.
